A pregnant former Walmart worker on Chicago's South Side says she was unjustly fired and is now fighting to get her job back.
The worker and labor activists plan to protest the pregnant employee's May firing Tuesday evening at the Walmart in Chatham.
Back in April, Thelma Moore was shopping at the Chatham Walmart on her day off when two TV boxes fell from a product cart and hit her. Moore, who was about two months pregnant at the time, sought immediate medical care after the accident, which occurred just over a week after she was hired. Moore, 23, said she hurt her ankle during the incident and also experienced vaginal bleeding.
Both her primary physician and an orthopedic doctor wrote letters stating Moore needed to take a total of two-and-a-half weeks off of work to recover. Those letters were provided to the store's management, according to Moore.
On May 8, she was supposed to start working the overnight shift again. Moore brought along a list of needed accommodations written by her primary doctor, including a water break every two hours and a restriction on lifting items heavier than 25 pounds. Moore said she was instructed to fill out company paperwork for the requested accommodations, which would take between seven to 10 business days to process. In the meantime, Moore was not put on the schedule because no positions were immediately available that involved lifting only up to 25 pounds, she said.
"All that time (I was) just waiting on that form to come back," she said, adding that she checked in with management on multiple occasions to see if the accommodations had been approved and when she could return to work. "They can view the cameras. I was up there every day trying to get my job back."
Hundreds of low-wage Chicago workers and their allies hit the city's downtown streets Tuesday evening to call for a $15 an hour minimum wage, union recognition and other items on their new "voter agenda."
Ahead of their union election on Saturday, workers seeking to unionize at the Barneys New York in Chicago saw support Thursday morning from three aldermen, who visited the luxury department store and urged management to "treat their employees with respect" and stop alleged anti-union "intimidation tactics."
Unstable work schedules impact at least 17 percent of the U.S. workforce, with low-wage workers facing irregular shift times the most.
Chicago voters might have an opportunity during the February municipal election to weigh in on a non-binding ballot referendum about paid sick leave for workers in the city.
